Lifestyle

Comrade Stanhope promotes monster fly past for VJ Day.

Our Brave Leader has decided he prefers celebrating defeats of fascism to his more familiar pacifism (will he be celebrating the overthrow of Saddam soon, as he pursues US defence contracts for ACT companies?). One wonders how this is related to recent accusations (not without some justification) that the local libs are carrying a torch for Hitler.

The biggest aerial display ever seen in the national capital will be the highlight of a weekend of activities next month to mark the 60th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific and the end of World War II.

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The Salute will be an event to remember, featuring no fewer than 25 different military aircraft, including the famous Tiger Moth and Spitfire, the big Canberra bomber and the modern-day pride of the RAAF, the F-111.

“I would like to see every possible vantage point around Lake Burley Griffin occupied for the Sunday 14 August flying program, which starts at noon and will conclude with sunset fireworks from 5.30pm and a simulated air strike featuring helicopters, Special Forces personnel, an Army Howitzer volley and a F-111 ‘dump and burn’.

In any event a Canberra bomber flying low will be quite the sight, even if they took no part in WWII but have killed a lot of people in brushfire wars over the last 40 years.

I remember going in to work on a weekend down in Tuggers some 4 years ago, when there happened to be an air show on. I heard the sound of a plane approaching and went to the window for a gander. I was about 3 or 4 floors up, about treetop height, so I had a great view. The plane was a an old single propeller WWII-era thing (but not a spitfire unfortunately). It was sort of cruising slowly across from right to left in front of me. Then all of a sudden the pilot stomped on the gas (so to speak) and this beast took off in a straight line towards the mountains like Matt Shirvington in a hundred metre dash. It sounded like a gang of harleys amplified 50 times. When he had gone about a kilometre at full pelt, he let up and slowed and the noise immediately died back down to it’s original level as he banked off to the right. It was the single coolest thing I have EVER seen and heard.

We apologise for the lack of advance warning about the thunderstorm last night. we realise you appreciate being given advance warning so that you can put your fluffy bunny slippers and ear muffs on and retire to your bunker with a warm cup of milo until the noise has past.

Actually, I don’t care whether it is on or not, go and enjoy yourself, I don’t want to stop it. Just as long as I know there is going to be noise, I will be happy. Anyway, I don’t need to go outside to see the flyover as I can see it from my window.

Sooner or later one of those things is going to crash, and when it does, I don’t want it hitting my house.
While I won’t be venturing outside to see it, at least I have been given some advance warning about the noise, which is all I ask.